Everyday German: friends, plans and small talk

Making plans, chatting, inviting and apologising: German with friends, neighbours and the people you meet.

34 sentences · 3 dialogues · 15 words

Why this field

Among friends German sounds different from the textbook: shorter, with little words like doch, mal and ja that carry the tone, and with endings dropped in speech. Once you recognise them, conversations at the table become much easier to follow.

Friendships are built on small things — a plan, an invitation, asking how someone is. These sentences are short and come up every day, which is what makes them worth learning first.

What you will be able to do

Goals by level. Tick what you can already do — the tick stays in this browser only.

A1I can greet friends, ask how they are and say goodbye.
A1I can accept or turn down an invitation.
A2I can make plans and say that I’ll be late.
B1I can use the small words — doch, mal, ja — that make spoken German sound friendly.
B1I can cancel, apologise and suggest another time.
B2I can talk about how a friendship has changed and smooth over a misunderstanding.

Core vocabulary

15 words from the word lists, ordered by level. A coloured edge shows what you have already practised.

hallohelloA1
tschüssbyeA1
bis baldsee you soonA1
dankethank youA1
gerngladly, with pleasureA1
leiderunfortunatelyA1
das WochenendeweekendA1
müdetiredA1
die Freizeitfree time, leisureA2
einladento inviteA2
die EinladunginvitationA2
die PartypartyA2
absagento cancelA2
die FreundschaftfriendshipB1
die Verabredungarrangement to meet, dateB2

Practise as flashcards Card box Mixed round

Typical situations

Short dialogues to read along and repeat. Say one part first, then the other.

Making plans

You call a friend and suggest something for Saturday.

Jana
Hallo Chris! Hast du am Samstag Zeit?Hi Chris! Are you free on Saturday?
Chris
Am Nachmittag schon. Warum?In the afternoon, yes. Why?
Jana
Wollen wir an den See fahren?Shall we go out to the lake?
Chris
Gute Idee! Um wie viel Uhr?Good idea! What time?
Jana
Um zwei am Bahnhof?Two o’clock at the station?
Chris
Super. Ich bringe Kuchen mit. Bis Samstag!Great. I’ll bring some cake. See you on Saturday!

Dinner at a friend’s

You have been invited to dinner at a friend’s flat.

Paula
Hallo, komm rein! Schön, dass du da bist.Hi, come in! Lovely that you’re here.
Sam
Danke für die Einladung. Hier, ich habe Blumen mitgebracht.Thanks for the invitation. Here, I brought you some flowers.
Paula
Oh, wie lieb! Möchtest du etwas trinken?Oh, how sweet! Would you like something to drink?
Sam
Gern, ein Wasser. Kann ich dir in der Küche helfen?Yes please, some water. Can I help you in the kitchen?
Paula
Nein, setz dich ruhig. Das Essen ist gleich fertig.No, do sit down. The food is almost ready.
Sam
Es riecht schon richtig gut!It already smells really good!

Cancelling and apologising

You have to cancel an evening with a friend at short notice.

Max
Hey Selin, du, ich muss für heute Abend leider absagen.Hey Selin, listen, I’m afraid I have to cancel for tonight.
Selin
Oh, schade. Ist alles in Ordnung?Oh, what a shame. Is everything OK?
Max
Ja, aber ich habe morgen eine Prüfung und muss noch lernen.Yes, but I have an exam tomorrow and still need to study.
Selin
Verstehe. Dann viel Glück morgen!I understand. Good luck tomorrow, then!
Max
Danke! Wollen wir uns nächste Woche treffen?Thanks! Shall we meet next week instead?
Selin
Gern. Melde dich einfach, wenn du Zeit hast.Sure. Just get in touch when you’re free.

Sentences to say aloud

The label says where a sentence belongs. The speaker next to it reads it aloud.

Hallo, wie geht’s?Hi, how are you?
A1casual
Gut, danke. Und dir?Fine, thanks. And you?
A1casual
Hast du morgen Zeit?Are you free tomorrow?
A1casual
Was machst du am Wochenende?What are you doing at the weekend?
A1casual
Gern!I’d love to!
A1neutral
Leider kann ich heute nicht.Unfortunately I can’t today.
A1neutral
Tschüss, bis bald!Bye, see you soon!
A1casual
Ich bin heute total müde.I’m really tired today.
A1casual
Wollen wir uns am Samstag treffen?Shall we meet up on Saturday?
A2neutral
Was machst du in deiner Freizeit?What do you do in your free time?
A2neutral
Ich möchte dich zu meiner Party einladen.I’d like to invite you to my party.
A2neutral
Danke für die Einladung!Thanks for the invitation!
A2neutral
Ich komme zehn Minuten später.I’ll be ten minutes late.
A2neutral
Ich muss leider absagen.I’m afraid I have to cancel.
A2neutral
Das macht echt Spaß!This is really fun!
A2casual
Hast du Lust, ins Kino zu gehen?Do you feel like going to the cinema?
A2casual Lust haben is the everyday way to ask whether someone feels like doing something — nothing to do with lust.
Wir haben gestern lange gequatscht.We chatted for ages yesterday.
A2casual
Schreib mir einfach eine Nachricht.Just send me a message.
A2casual
Wir haben uns für Freitag verabredet.We’ve arranged to meet on Friday.
B1neutral
Unsere Freundschaft ist mir sehr wichtig.Our friendship means a lot to me.
B1neutral
Melde dich, wenn du angekommen bist.Let me know when you’ve arrived.
B1casual
Ich wollte mich entschuldigen, dass ich nicht gekommen bin.I wanted to apologise for not coming.
B1neutral
Wir verstehen uns richtig gut.We get on really well.
B1neutral
Kannst du mir beim Umzug helfen?Can you help me with the move?
B1casual
Na, alles klar bei dir?Hey, all good with you?
B1casual
Ich hab keine Ahnung.No idea.
B1casual In speech the -e of habe is usually dropped; in writing it stays.
In everyday life, rather: Ich habe keine Ahnung.
Sag mal, kommst du am Freitag mit?Tell me, are you coming along on Friday?
B1casual mal softens a request or a question; Sag mal is a friendly way to start one.
Das ist doch nicht so schlimm.It’s not that bad, really.
B1casual doch here reassures: the speaker expects you to agree.
Ich bin bei Lisa zum Abendessen eingeladen.I’ve been invited to dinner at Lisa’s.
B1neutral
Was soll ich mitbringen?What should I bring?
B1neutral
Ich wollte dich nicht kränken, ich habe mich ungeschickt ausgedrückt.I didn’t mean to hurt you; I put it clumsily.
B2neutral
Wir haben uns etwas aus den Augen verloren, aber wir telefonieren noch ab und zu.We’ve lost touch a bit, but we still call each other now and then.
B2neutral
Hätte ich gewusst, dass du in der Stadt bist, hätte ich dich angerufen.If I’d known you were in town, I’d have called you.
B2neutral
Die Verabredung mit Tom habe ich völlig vergessen.I completely forgot I’d arranged to meet Tom.
B2neutral

What matters here

Among friends and people of your own age du is normal from the start. With older people or strangers, wait until du is offered.
If you are invited to someone’s home, bring something small — flowers, a dessert, a bottle of wine — and arrive on time.
Particles like doch, mal and ja carry tone, not content: Komm doch mit! is a warm invitation, Komm mit! sounds like an order.
A Freund is a close friend or a boyfriend; for someone you know only a little, people say ein Bekannter or eine Bekannte.

Quick quiz

6 questions on the words and sentences of this field. The word questions count in your progress like any other exercise.

Try it yourself

Read the meaning, say the sentence aloud in German, then open it to compare.

Hi, how are you?
Hallo, wie geht’s?
Shall we meet up on Saturday?
Wollen wir uns am Samstag treffen?
We chatted for ages yesterday.
Wir haben gestern lange gequatscht.
Hey, all good with you?
Na, alles klar bei dir?

Keep learning

The grammar behind it

Word lists that go with it

Reading texts

Reading texts on this topic (18)

Practise

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Every sentence on this page was written for EveryLingua. There are no quotations from films, series, books or songs here, and no titles or names of artists — the page shows how people talk in this field, not what somebody once said.